Wayne Rooney has removed the term "Manchester United player" from his Twitter page and replaced it with "NikeUK athlete" following his demand to Sir Alex Ferguson a fortnight ago to leave the club this summer.

While United are adamant the striker is not for sale, according to a well placed source Rooney is valued at £40m, so if an offer was made this may at least be explored. United are interested in bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, so the transfer of Rooney would help finance a deal.

Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea are potential suitors for the 27-year-old who has had an uneven season for United.

While it is not known why Rooney removed the description from his Twitter feed, the timing of it further heightens the sense of his disgruntlement with life at Old Trafford.

Ferguson told Rooney he could not leave and that remains United's stance. Rooney has declined to comment on his position.